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Guerrero was fun to watch. I also really liked Roberto Alomar in his prime. He could affect the game on both sides of the ball. Defensively I loved watching Rey Ordonez. He couldn't hit a lick, but my was he phenomenal with the glove. When the Mets had him and Alomar it was webgem city (the Vizquel/Alomar tandem was nothing to sneeze at either). Too bad I can't find any highlights of him online. (Trent from Nola)

MLB.com has released a lot more video over the past few years, so don't give up the search! Ordonez was fun to watch but man he could NOT hit at all. I do like those guys who have a balanced game and can do different things to help win, but other than the 450-foot homer, nothing impresses me more than a guy with a great throwing arm. Manny Machado has the best infield arm that I've seen lately... hope he can stay healthy. (Cory Schwartz)

I want to combine your baseball card article (excellent) today and your Peanuts knowledge and ask you an important question: Did you ever buy $5 worth of bubble gum cards to get that special Joe Shlabotnik card only to fail and your friend Lucy buy one pack and get the card? And if so, what was on the back of that special Joe Shlabotnik card?(jhardman from Apex, NC)

Ha! Not exactly.

My brothers and I did buy a lot of 1988 Donruss cards, though. I'm sure there were a number of times that they ended up getting pieces to that darn Stan Musial puzzle that I wanted, though. I was pretty proud of that Roberto Alomar rookie card, too. (Larry Granillo)

Do you think the rumors about Roberto Alomar will hurt his Hall of Fame chances?(Tom from Denver)

The rumors about Alomar had already been out there for nearly a year when last year's ballot went out, and Alomar just missed enshrinement. So no, I don't think this will change anything. Whether or not he's sick, it saddens the hell out of me to see anyone have to deal with such rumors. (Jay Jaffe)

My objection to the Girardi/Rivera Taco Bell commercial is that the other guy hasn't even taken a single bite before Mo comes in to relieve him.
I guess they thought it would be gross to have Rivera sharing germs with a stranger (it would), but it kind of kills the whole thing for me to see the starter taken out before he throws a pitch.(The Flying Bernard from Acton, MA)

I guess it's a good thing that the guy Girardi is replacing isn't Roberto Alomar. (Steven Goldman)

Maybe the problem is that being 20-something and cool comes once in a lifetime; voting for Rice for what he was (briefly) in the late '70s and early '80s, or Dawson for what he was (even more briefly) in the '80s probably has far too much to do with remembering those days over-fondly. Either way, here's hoping my cadre gives Frank Thomas his due come that day.(Christina Kahrl from BP Volcano Hideout)

That's a good point, but I think we'll see it put to the test in a few minutes when the voting results are announced, because to some extent you're also talking about Roberto Alomar as well, though he truly did remain effective into his 30s.

Going to take a few moments to prep myself for the big announcement... (Jay Jaffe)

Just curious, how good is Roberto Alomar's case for the HOF?(greg from toronto)

A 12-time all-star, 10-time Gold Glover with over 200 homers at 2B? I think most voters will say yes.

I did an article about this a few years back (http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=3844). His Bill James monitor numbers are great (55.9 on the Standards, 195.3 on the Monitor, where 50 and 100 are the respective averages), and while my system has changed a bit, the numbers are in his favor from a JAWS standpoint too: 134.7/75.3/105.0 for Alomar, 128.7/74.8/101.7 for the average HOF 2B.

Do you think Roberto Alomar gets into the Hall of Fame? He's a few hundred hits shy of the 3000 plateau, and although he dominated the gold glove scene for his position throughout the 90's, it doesn't seem like his "greatness" is really remembered too well even though he just retired a couple of years ago. (John from Boston)

He should be in the Hall of Fame, but keep in mind, I think Lou Whitaker should be in the Hall of Fame, and look how badly the voters screwed that up. (Christina Kahrl)

who do you see as the next candidate undeservedly snubbed by the bbwaa for not understanding their value on the field?
also:
how long do you think the Mcgwire punishment vote lasts?
thanks for answering my last question(lexomatic from busybeeland)

Looking at the upcoming eligibles, I see trouble ahead for Roberto Alomar (105.0 JAWS, where the 2B benchmark is at 101.7) and Barry Larkin (96.7, where the SS benchmark is at 96.6). They're on the ballot in two years, as is Edgar Martinez (85.5, where the HOF hitter benchmark is 93.2 - i.e., his case will be easier to understand).

As for the punishment vote, it may last his entire 20 years on the ballot. The BBWAA voters aren't exactly known to forget a grudge, and let's not forget the energy many of them expended building McGwire a rather large pedestal. Mike Lupica, please pick up the white paging phone... (Jay Jaffe)